Well, it's been nearly two weeks now since I've been DE shaving and closer to 3 weeks since I started using a brush & shaving soap. My original thread was: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/307232-Hello-everyone-can-I-tell-you-a-story but as I'm now not a complete and utter newbie (just an utter newbie now 
) I thought the update warranted a new thread.
First of all, my kit... nice and simple, just one of everything: Men-U Barbiere boar bristle brush, Kent shaving soap (MWF clone), Wilkinson Sword Classic DE razor and 5 pack of blades, Nivea sensitive ASB.
My routine is also simple: a good 3-5 minutes of prep using hot water, wash with decent facewash, application of shave soap with brush and then hot face towel, wash with more hot water, done. I also soak the brush at the beginning of this and put a few drops / splash of water on the puck of soap.
My observations in no particular order:
1. My neck, which was previously troubled by severe shaving rash & ingrowings, is looking a huge amount better. It's not completely clear, but it's not far off. To be fair, most of this seems to be down to better prep and a good soap as I saw a difference pretty much immediately after moving to the brush & soap. Softening the bristles well and getting good lubrication seems to make the biggest difference.
2. No matter what type of razor you use, only make one pass between latherings. Part of my old problem was, I suspect, caused by repeatedly "going over" the same patches of skin with the cartridge without reapplying can of goo. DE shaving is better for your skin (only one blade rather than 3-4) but the same rule still applies. Relather, relather... it only takes seconds, feels nice and you're getting value out of all that excess soap on your brush!
3. MWF/Kent lathers like a beauty. Sure, it took a few sessions to get both me and the soap "ready" and in the groove, but now about a dozen or so swirls and I have a great proto-lather ready for face lathering. If I end up doing 3-4 passes then another couple of swirls at some point reloads the brush plenty. I do have soft water, but as a DE newbie, I'm struggling to replicate the issues some others seem to have lathering MWF. This morning I ended up with far too much lather and it was all pretty thick stuff - it was pretty much dropping off my face but thick enough that I could catch it and stick it back on! Maybe the stiffer boar brush helps, too?
4. Neck shaving is the trickier bit for me - around the Adam's apple I just aim to get a beard reduction rather than even a SAS, let alone a DFS. It's usually tucked behind my collar & tie, so nobody will notice when I'm at work anyway. The beard growth directions on my neck are all over the place, although I don't have any swirls at least. Neck shaving is still a skill I'm needing to improve, in particular because I have to balance getting a reasonable shave with preventing irritation.
5. Shave frequency: I almost always shave daily, in the morning. If I have a red-eye flight or other reason why I'll be up at 5am, I might shave the night before. I'll generally not shave on Sundays. Funnily enough, I had my best ever shave this morning - perhaps a combination of a little bit of extra beard growth from Saturday morning, plus a new blade and not being particularly rushed this morning. Historically (before coming to B&B), not shaving for a day - or worse: two - would make the rash far worse when I did eventually shave. It was a constant battle and not a pleasant experience! Thankfully that is no more.
6. Shave results are absolutely better and I realise I've still got a lot of improvement to make to technique as well as trying other blades etc. The feel of probably 90-95% of my beard is, for me, pretty close to perfect. I'd say it's a DFS by my standards - the tiniest hint of stubble if I rub my hand ATG but that's ok. The other 5-10% - usually a bit of the neck and always the Adam's apple is either SAS or just about ok. I don't mind this as it's always areas that are covered up, so I'm not going to get anal about this and risk irritation or ingrowns.
7. Chin area is still tricky, but a bit of delicate XTG usually helps. Moustache area is similarly tricky - I have a habit of "buffing" which probably isn't great for the skin and I can only ever go XTG as my nose gets in the way otherwise! Perhaps I'm doing it wrong? Jawline is usually ok - again, this was an area which, historically, I've struggled with rash and ingrowns, but it's cleared up a lot now. Almost totally clear, in fact.
8. Visible chin stubble - this is an odd one and not something I ever encountered before. I can feel my chin is a DFS or pretty close, yet looking in the mirror I can see stubble. Really odd and part of me wonders whether it's always been there but I've only just noticed it. I honestly don't think so - it's clearly visible if you are close. I don't mind particularly, it's just surprising that I can't feel it. I don't have very dark hair and I do have slightly darker skin (mid-European, I guess)... odd!
9. Blades: seem fine, to date I've only had two tiny nicks which stopped when I splashed my face with cold water. I don't use WH and it doesn't seem as if I need to, so far. I will certainly experiment with a starter pack in a couple of weeks time, it'd be good to try sharper blades to see how they compare. I really don't mind the WS Classics though - they seem a pretty good intro for me and a compromise between doing their job well enough, without running the risk of cutting my face to ribbons!
10. Badger vs Boar: I know there is supposed to be only one answer to this, but I really like the feel of my boar brush. It isn't as soft as a badger, I know that, but I like the sensation, it doesn't irritate and it lathers my MWF soap really well. I certainly don't see the point of changing any time soon.
11. Soap & ASB: I love these two, I love the smell and the feel. No chance of changing these in the near term, even if someone deposited a new shaving den full of stuff in my bathroom!
12. Razor: It seems to work well enough... isn't too aggressive but gets the job done. Could I manage one pass less with a more aggressive angle/gap? Maybe, but I'd rather have a play around with blades first, before changing apparatus...
So, in summary, a big thank you to everyone here who has contributed to this site (that's all of you, then). Without the resources here, I wouldn't have made the step or, even worse, I'd have tried it and probably got it all pretty wrong.
) I thought the update warranted a new thread.First of all, my kit... nice and simple, just one of everything: Men-U Barbiere boar bristle brush, Kent shaving soap (MWF clone), Wilkinson Sword Classic DE razor and 5 pack of blades, Nivea sensitive ASB.
My routine is also simple: a good 3-5 minutes of prep using hot water, wash with decent facewash, application of shave soap with brush and then hot face towel, wash with more hot water, done. I also soak the brush at the beginning of this and put a few drops / splash of water on the puck of soap.
My observations in no particular order:
1. My neck, which was previously troubled by severe shaving rash & ingrowings, is looking a huge amount better. It's not completely clear, but it's not far off. To be fair, most of this seems to be down to better prep and a good soap as I saw a difference pretty much immediately after moving to the brush & soap. Softening the bristles well and getting good lubrication seems to make the biggest difference.
2. No matter what type of razor you use, only make one pass between latherings. Part of my old problem was, I suspect, caused by repeatedly "going over" the same patches of skin with the cartridge without reapplying can of goo. DE shaving is better for your skin (only one blade rather than 3-4) but the same rule still applies. Relather, relather... it only takes seconds, feels nice and you're getting value out of all that excess soap on your brush!
3. MWF/Kent lathers like a beauty. Sure, it took a few sessions to get both me and the soap "ready" and in the groove, but now about a dozen or so swirls and I have a great proto-lather ready for face lathering. If I end up doing 3-4 passes then another couple of swirls at some point reloads the brush plenty. I do have soft water, but as a DE newbie, I'm struggling to replicate the issues some others seem to have lathering MWF. This morning I ended up with far too much lather and it was all pretty thick stuff - it was pretty much dropping off my face but thick enough that I could catch it and stick it back on! Maybe the stiffer boar brush helps, too?
4. Neck shaving is the trickier bit for me - around the Adam's apple I just aim to get a beard reduction rather than even a SAS, let alone a DFS. It's usually tucked behind my collar & tie, so nobody will notice when I'm at work anyway. The beard growth directions on my neck are all over the place, although I don't have any swirls at least. Neck shaving is still a skill I'm needing to improve, in particular because I have to balance getting a reasonable shave with preventing irritation.
5. Shave frequency: I almost always shave daily, in the morning. If I have a red-eye flight or other reason why I'll be up at 5am, I might shave the night before. I'll generally not shave on Sundays. Funnily enough, I had my best ever shave this morning - perhaps a combination of a little bit of extra beard growth from Saturday morning, plus a new blade and not being particularly rushed this morning. Historically (before coming to B&B), not shaving for a day - or worse: two - would make the rash far worse when I did eventually shave. It was a constant battle and not a pleasant experience! Thankfully that is no more.
6. Shave results are absolutely better and I realise I've still got a lot of improvement to make to technique as well as trying other blades etc. The feel of probably 90-95% of my beard is, for me, pretty close to perfect. I'd say it's a DFS by my standards - the tiniest hint of stubble if I rub my hand ATG but that's ok. The other 5-10% - usually a bit of the neck and always the Adam's apple is either SAS or just about ok. I don't mind this as it's always areas that are covered up, so I'm not going to get anal about this and risk irritation or ingrowns.
7. Chin area is still tricky, but a bit of delicate XTG usually helps. Moustache area is similarly tricky - I have a habit of "buffing" which probably isn't great for the skin and I can only ever go XTG as my nose gets in the way otherwise! Perhaps I'm doing it wrong? Jawline is usually ok - again, this was an area which, historically, I've struggled with rash and ingrowns, but it's cleared up a lot now. Almost totally clear, in fact.
8. Visible chin stubble - this is an odd one and not something I ever encountered before. I can feel my chin is a DFS or pretty close, yet looking in the mirror I can see stubble. Really odd and part of me wonders whether it's always been there but I've only just noticed it. I honestly don't think so - it's clearly visible if you are close. I don't mind particularly, it's just surprising that I can't feel it. I don't have very dark hair and I do have slightly darker skin (mid-European, I guess)... odd!
9. Blades: seem fine, to date I've only had two tiny nicks which stopped when I splashed my face with cold water. I don't use WH and it doesn't seem as if I need to, so far. I will certainly experiment with a starter pack in a couple of weeks time, it'd be good to try sharper blades to see how they compare. I really don't mind the WS Classics though - they seem a pretty good intro for me and a compromise between doing their job well enough, without running the risk of cutting my face to ribbons!
10. Badger vs Boar: I know there is supposed to be only one answer to this, but I really like the feel of my boar brush. It isn't as soft as a badger, I know that, but I like the sensation, it doesn't irritate and it lathers my MWF soap really well. I certainly don't see the point of changing any time soon.
11. Soap & ASB: I love these two, I love the smell and the feel. No chance of changing these in the near term, even if someone deposited a new shaving den full of stuff in my bathroom!
12. Razor: It seems to work well enough... isn't too aggressive but gets the job done. Could I manage one pass less with a more aggressive angle/gap? Maybe, but I'd rather have a play around with blades first, before changing apparatus...
So, in summary, a big thank you to everyone here who has contributed to this site (that's all of you, then). Without the resources here, I wouldn't have made the step or, even worse, I'd have tried it and probably got it all pretty wrong.
